


Stranger In A Strange Land

by BuddhaForMary



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - Assassins & Hitmen, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/F, F/M, Historical Fantasy, Humanstuck, M/M, Magic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-13
Updated: 2013-11-02
Packaged: 2017-12-14 01:14:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/831007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BuddhaForMary/pseuds/BuddhaForMary
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Vriska and Gamzee are mercenaries in the land of Prospit, ruled by Prince Jake and Princess Jane. When Vriska and Gamzee team up with some fellow assassins to overthrow and kill Prince Jake, the royal officials send them to exile in Derse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ruse

The chimes from the tower were particularly loud that morning, each ring evenly placed between the other. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Five o clock in the morning, and that was if time hadn't lost its meaning to the individual hearing the toll of the bells. The slender, lithe figure perched atop the city's cathedral seemed to be unaffected by the change of the hour, and seemed even less interested in the sun peeking out over the horizon. Her companion, a much taller, somewhat lanky figure, was watching the sky warily, as if the sun that so imminently approaching would kill him. He knew it wouldn't, but he disliked it all the same and began to urge his smaller companion to stop screwing around and let them get the hell out of there. The girl turned to him and glared through calculating eyes that resembled the sky on a frozen winter's day. 

"What is it that I'm hearing? The ever-so-fearful Gamzee Makara is scared of a little sunlight?" She turned her attention back to the sky. "Too bad. We're going to watch the sun rise and see the city come alive."

Gamzee's shoulders slumped. "Why are you so obsessed with fuckin' seeing people from this height, Vriska? Shit ain't too righteous if you ask me."

"Well no one asked you, Makara." Vriska flipped her dark, mangled locks of hair behind her. "And besides, it's fun to watch the city light up. Nice contrast from what it's like now."

Gamzee simply threw his hands up halfheartedly in defeat. He leaned onto the wall a bit and observed the skyline. The city of Derse lay beyond it, just out of the sight of the bright and cheerful city he inhabited. It had been a largely unconfirmed rumor circulating through Prospit that those who lived on Derse were the most skilled warriors a general could ask for. Some variations of these rumors told tales of boys barely 16 who could slay the largest of beasts with one simple hit. Other variations told of a girl who had been resurrected several times, only to die again and again. No one from Prospit could say whether these rumors were true or not; Prospitians didn't have the heart to travel to such a strange place. Such a horrific place. Prospit was the city of gold and smiles. Derse was the city of darkness and fear.

The sun peeked over the horizon, small rays of light seeming to come from the ground. Vriska smiled to herself, relishing a bit in the surreal atmosphere created by the golden light. Gamzee, however, was getting incredibly uneasy and shifting from foot to foot. His shuffling brought Vriska out of her little moment and she sighed in exasperation. "Alright, alright. If it makes you stop being such a baby, we can go somewhere out of the sun." Under her breath she muttered to herself, "Damn Makara, no fun ever..."

Gamzee nodded vigorously before heading off to the side of the cathedral, looking back at Vriska to make sure she was coming with him. She took one more look at the skyline and shook her head, running to join Gamzee. Vriska backed away from the edge of the building and took a deep breath. She looked up to the fading stars above and blinked hard. She pulled back a little further and abruptly broke into a sprint, heading right for the gap in between the cathedral and jumping. As she was suspended in the air, a small voice of doubt shouted at her, the voice that always told her she wasn't going to make it. But, as always, she cleared the jump and landed solidly with an exhilarated smile and a small laugh. Always good to be alive. Vriska turned back to face the edge of the cathedral, where Gamzee stood. She looked to the belt loop on her hip and saw exactly what she was looking for-- a grappling hook she'd stolen off of some guy she had killed. It was a reliable instrument, especially when you spent your nights scaling buildings and rooftop hopping. Vriska removed the rope from her belt and unwound it, swinging it next to her to gain momentum. After a few seconds, she gracefully tossed the rope over to the cathedral and smirked when the hook caught onto the edge. She pulled it taut to make sure that Gamzee wouldn't fall when he shimmied across it and beckoned for him to get over to her. Gamzee sighed audibly before jumping into the gap and taking hold of the rope. He moved forward, placing one hand before the other, knowing that if he slipped up, he would become a splatter on the city streets. He maneuvered over to Vriska, who had been holding the rope taut. He climbed over the edge of the building and stood before Vriska, shaking out his shaggy hair. 

"You pick where we go, Sir Fear of the Sun." Vriska gave him a sarcastic salute. Gamzee's face fell flat and he crossed his arms.

"If you're done mocking me, I think it's time we got to fuckin' hiding in a building for the day. Not dealing with this sunlight business." Gamzee pulled his hood over his head and pulled his mask over his lips and jaw, leaving only a shag of hair, his nose and eyes visible. 

Vriska shook her head. "I don't understand why you need to hide, your face is pretty fucking protected if you ask me." She removed a ribbon from a compartment on her belt and tied her hair back. "But, let's get a move on. Sun is fully out in half an hour, and the town is going to be waking up soon."

Vriska led the way to the other side of the building they'd been standing on and looked over. Someone had been stupid (or smart) enough to leave a ladder there, and that pleased Vriska. She wouldn't have to use her grappling hook even more and risk straining it. She beckoned to Gamzee as she hopped down to the first rung and started her descent. Gamzee scanned the surrounding areas to make sure no one had seen them and was soon following after Vriska, agilely scampering down the ladder. Vriska landed on the stone-paved street without a sound and backed away from the ladder, observing Gamzee. When he hit the ground next to her, she offered him a wanton smirk and leaned in close. "First to the clock tower gets to sleep, loser gets guard duty."

Before Gamzee could give a response worth hearing, Vriska was tearing down the street at a crazed, nearly hysterical level of velocity. Gamzee could hear her mad cackling as she sprinted, and something in the laugh made him furious. He growled and broke into a sprint after Vriska, her form being a good sixty feet in front of him. His longer legs pushed him closer to her, yet her laughing continued, smug in nature and high in pitch. He let out another growl, much louder this time and enough to slow Vriska down. She took a look back, which was a huge mistake; Gamzee, unable to stop in time, clobbered her to the stone. She let out a yelp, more out of fear than pain. She turned her head to the best of her ability and stared at him, fuming. "What the fuck was that for?"

Gamzee stood up and dusted himself off. "Didn't fuckin' try to do that. Look at what you motherfuckin' done. My tunic is fuckin' filthy."

Vriska pushed herself up off the ground and waved her hand in dismissal. "You can wash it in the river later. Now let's go before people see us."

* * *

 

"Hey, get your lazy ass up. The sun's rising, we're gonna be on guard next. Tavros, you heard me, get your ass up. TAVROS!"

Caramel eyes shot open with a shock, and a small scream of fear escaped into the vast expanse of the clock tower. Vriska was standing over him, looking ticked off and ready to gouge someone's eyes out. Tavros sat up and rubbed his eyes to clear them of sleep. He gazed up at her blankly. This brought her a small surge of rage and she grabbed his face in her hand, squeezing his chin. "We have to go out there. Come on." Vriska let go and started off to the door.

Tavros sat up from his cot, throwing the covers off of it and stretching with a yawn. He looked down at his feet for a second, mentally noting that he needed new boots, and soon. He shrugged and pulled a long-sleeved black tunic over his torso, then his lace-up, hooded vest. Tavros pulled on his black gloves and pulled the hood over his head, finally following Vriska to the staircase where she was surely sitting. On the way to find her, he passed by Gamzee, who was obviously heading to his bed, judging by the shit-eating smirk on his face. Tavros gave him a short nod as he passed, trying to get to Vriska as quickly as possible. She had a short fuse, and that short fuse was downright terrifying when it burned up. He strode past the gears of the clock and got to the stairs where, just as he'd predicted, Vriska was sitting. She had taken out her knife and was playing with it, her expression bored. Tavros approached her and sighed. "Alright. I, uh, I'm here. Let's go guard this shit, I guess."

Vriska put the knife back into her boot and stood up. "You 'guess'? Guarding is an important job, Tavros. You have to be wary, else we get infiltrated."

"You're a bit paranoid, I hope you know." He subconsciously checked for his lance, breathing a bit easier when he felt its familiar weight on his back. 

Vriska shook her head and ascended the staircase, muttering along the way. Before too long, they reached the spot where the staircase began twisting, imitating a corkscrew up into the highest part of the clocktower. Tavros cringed as he kept walking, feeling a miniscule amount of fear creep into his mind. He always felt like the stairs would cave in there, though he and Vriska combined would still weigh as much as a twig. The life of organized crime was a bare-bones one, but it worked all the same, and it kept money in their pockets. 

Vriska and Tavros finally got to the door leading out to the top, which earned a sigh of relief from Tavros. Vriska gave him a short look of disgust before going out into the light of the sun. The clock tower had just chimed eight times, signaling the hour of the morning where the region suddenly bustled with activity. Children came out to play, the little boys in the street chasing each other around with their respective toys. The older daughters and the mothers would not be seen until later on, when they went to the river to wash clothing and dry it. Men were going off to work at their shops; Prospit held an abundance of those, ranging from bakeries to carpenters to hat makers. Vriska inhaled deeply, always exhilerated by the view from this high up. Tavros stood beside her and looked down at everything, a bit bored by this. He never liked guard duty, or even his job as a mercenary. He wanted to get out of this life, but he had no choice. Sons of poor men had little chance at prestige if they didn't take the road of lesser morality.

Vriska turned to her companion and raised an eyebrow.  "Ever wonder what it would be like if we didn't have to do all of this?"

Tavros let out a soft chuckle. "What do you mean by that? We all do... a lot of things."

Vriska's hand shot out and slapped Tavros' chest. "I meant... Have you ever wondered what life would be like if we didn't live in this damn clock tower? It's hard to sleep in here, and guard duty is terrible."

Tavros cringed a little at the hit, but smiled at her question. "Well, yeah. I get kind of sick of hearing x amount of uh, chimes every hour. It'd be nice if we could all... Find a way out of here."

Vriska sighed and nodded. "I know. Too bad we can't. If we so much as try to get an actual home or something, it'll endanger those we work with, as well as us."

"I know. Guess we have to, uh, stick it out." Tavros rubbed the back of his neck through his hood.

Vriska rubbed her face and yawned quietly. Damn that Makara for beating her to the clock tower and being able to sleep. She ought to lop off his head or something, with how much he aggravated her on a daily basis. The only person who dealt with him readily was Tavros, and sometimes a short, constantly irritated kid named Karkat who tagged along with them from time to time. Makara was a wild card. Vriska was waiting for the day that he got them all busted for murder, and when that day came, Vriska's rage would explode and she'd probably kill Gamzee herself. She felt her expression twist at the mere thought of him, and she felt herself wanting to break something. A click sounded from behind them, then a creak; the creak of the old door to the top. Vriska turned quickly, withdrawing her blade.


	2. Convergence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meet the soon to be king of Prospit, and one of his servants who lives a double life.

As the clock tower chimed nine times a few miles away, Prince Jake was already up and about in the luxurious Prospitian palace. Holding a heavy robe around his leanly muscled frame, he descended the stairs from his chamber and into the open hallway. He moved gracefully down the corridor and looked out into the waking world-- his waking world. He inhaled the air of the morning, full of sunshine and brisk air. Prince Jake stretched languidly and let out a miniscule grunt, a smile taking up the space on his face.   
  
"Golly, it's a positively wonderful morning. I do wonder what Jane could even be up to! My, my, she's probably still sleeping the day away." Jake pulled his robe even tighter around himself and shrugged with a small 'hmph' and continued down the corridor. "Silly cousin of mine."

The sun shone directly through the open space, flooding over Prince Jake in warm waves. He proceeded down the hall slowly, basking in the light. He couldn't understand how the Dersites could even LIVE with the cloudy, dreary weather that seemed to be so commonplace. He also couldn't understand how two kingdoms, only a few hours apart, could be so strikingly different. Jake gazed outside one more time before making his way into the next part of the palace. He was able to smell the sweet breakfast that the cooks were baking for he and his still dozing cousin. He quickly made it down the small staircase and into the massive dining room. Jake's nose wrinkled. This wasn't the proper place to enjoy such a sweet meal on such a fine day-- it was too heavily tapestried, too fancy, too... Dark. He made a quick mental note to put some sort of windows in the room and proceeded into the kitchen, where he saw a couple of maids and servants bustling about in a hurry to prepare food for the soon-to-be king. Jake always found it a bit silly how those who worked for him were overly cautious about saying or doing anything to displease him, and whenever they over-apologized, Jake simply waved them off with a grin. Just as he had been contemplating this, a young servant let out a string of curse words as a knife cluttered to the floor. Jake made his way over to the boy and raised a brow.

"Something wrong, chap?" 

The stocky, dark-haired boy looked up at Jake and shook his head. "Uh... No, not really. I just happened to nearly slice my finger off with this monster knife..."

Jake looked at the wound that the knife had left. His nose wrinkled slightly. The finger was cut pretty deep, and servant had to wrap it in his shirt. The prince tapped his chin and he tisked. "Well, that simply won't do for a day's work, will it? I suggest you go into the village for the day, see if you can't get the blasted thing wrapped up and fixed." 

Before the servant could protest, Prince Jake waved him off. But, as the servant boy made his way through the kitchen and to the exit, the prince stopped him. The boy turned around, looking slightly irritated.

"Strange as this may sound, but I simply must enquire about your name!"

The boy blanched. "Karkat Vantas."

Jake looked at Karkat curiously, causing him to be rooted in the spot.  After what seemed like years, Prince Jake let go of Karkat's shoulder and patted him on the back heartily. "A fine name for a fine young servant. Now carry on, get yourself fixed up. Be back by tomorrow."

Karkat offered an insincere smile and hightailed it out of the palace.

* * *

Vriska whipped around as she heard the door to the clocktower open. Standing there, out of breath, was Gamzee. Vriska rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh as she relaxed in her previous position. Tavros hadn't moved an inch, not until Vriska's hand shot out to hit him in the stomach with a fist. Tavros wobbled backward for a moment and braced his hands on his knees. As he tried to get back the wind Vriska had knocked out of him, he looked at her incredulously. "What was the, uh, deal with that?"

Vriska sneered at him as if it were obvious. "Gamzee could have been an enemy and you wouldn't have moved to save me or yourself. You deserved that punch."

Gamzee snickered a bit, then returned to his serious state. "Just thought I'd motherfuckin' inform you that Karkat all up and showed up out of nowhere. He's heading up right about--"

"Alright, fuckwits, I'm here." 

Vriska turned to regard the boy. He'd changed out of his work clothes and into the worn cloak he insisted on sporting, along with laced up boots and standard commoner garb. His hood was off for now, revealing his unnaturally dark shade of red hair. Vriska sneered at him as well.

"Hey freakshow. About time you joined us. How was work?" 

Karkat shook his head and sat on the edge of the wall. "Fucking lovely. A knife decided to sneak into my joke of a life and cut my index finger open. But no worries, Princess fucking Serket, I bandaged it up well enough and got off of my job as Prince Jake's personal slave slash pretty boy cook for the night." He pulled the hand from his pocket, showing an expertly wrapped finger, with the cloth soaked through to the surface. He put his hand behind his head to grab the sickle from where it hung on his back. "So I can go around with you blundering assmunchers and make sure you don't tear the town a brand new, gaping abyss of an asshole."

Vriska leaned against the wall near Karkat and giggled obnoxiously. "Oh, but isn't that what we do every single week? Raise hell and strike fear into the hearts of our fellow Prospitians?"

Gamzee pushed his shaggy hair from his eyes. "We ain't caused any such trouble in what seems like a few motherfuckin' eons." Tavros nodded in agreement and sighed, looking off into the heart of the city.

Vriska rolled her eyes and spit over the edge of the clock tower. "Our presence alone makes people shake in fear."

Karkat snorted and looked at Vriska with a sneer. "Right. Because  _everyone_ fears a group of fucktards with some weaponry. We're no different from any other thieves or commoners. We're not destined for some cosmic fucking level of greatness, and you need to get the hell off of your cloud, Serket."

Vriska got up from her seat on the edge of the clocktower and opened the door to the stairs. In a huff, she walked in and slammed the door behind her, heading downstairs to get some rest. Gamzee looked from Karkat to Tavros for a moment before running down to join her. He made his way down the rickety steps and followed Vriska to the common area they all shared. She flopped down on the luxurious rug she'd pilfered from a street vendor and sprawled out in an attempt to get comfortable. Gamzee noticed that her eyes were shut, but it's not as if he cared if he disturbed her peace. 

"Vriska."

Vriska rolled over and groaned, her face now buried in the soft fabric of the carpet. "What the hell do you want, Makara? It's my turn to sleep."

Gamzee raised an eyebrow. "There's no motherfuckin' need for none of that hostility. I just wanted to.., Talk to you I guess. In the most serious of motherfuckin' ways."

Vriska sighed in exasperation and sat up, throwing her long, tangled hair behind her. She patted the space next to her, reluctantly inviting Gamzee to sit beside her. He took the offer and plopped down, sitting in silence for a moment before finding the words he needed to say.

"Vriska, you've gotta... Stop acting like we're some kind of royalty. Like we're some motherfuckin' force to be reckoned with. You know how almost everyone in this fuckin' kingdom holds authority in the most righteous of regards. They respect Jake. They respect Jane. They're not gonna all up and sacrifice that loyalty for a few motherfuckers with weapons and skill to wield them motherfuckin' devices of death."

"Gamzee, you don't understand. We've got an entire underground going here. An entire group of people who think like us. People who needed to steal, to fight, to kill to survive in this shitty place. Everyone loves the authority because they don't know about how any of this works. Everyone loves Jake and Jane because they have no idea that their figureheads are nothing more than that-- figureheads. You know who's really in control Gamzee. You do. We've seen it with our own eyes. Those foreigners, the carpicians. If someone were to take out Jake and Jane, then the people would see that. Then they'd realize their money isn't paying for anything but the robes and the furniture and what have you of the foreign intruders." Vriska massaged her temples with a single hand, the elegant fingers rubbing away at the hideous tension.

Gamzee stayed quiet for a while, letting everything Vriska had said sink in for the ten thousandth time. Though she'd repeated herself often enough to show that she was telling the truth, Gamzee refused to even comprehend that the people supposedly in charge were actually puppets, and that the people that actually were in charge weren't people at all-- that they were creatures from another land. He'd seen it with his own eyes, but still could not believe.

"Vriska, we can't do a motherfuckin' thing about it, and you know that." Gamzee rubbed the back of his neck, hoping he was giving off the vibe that he wasn't trying to upset the volatile woman.

"Yes we can. I know we can..." Her arms crossed defiantly over her chest and stood up suddenly. "We're destined for great things, Makara, even that snore Nitram is. Look... Just... Just let me sleep a little, and then let me think of something we could do, then I'll get back to all of you." Vriska began to back out of the room. "If I'm not awake when the clock chimes three, then come and get me. In the mean time, don't let me down on guard duty." She casted a smile over her shoulder, and to Gamzee, it looked almost... Sweet? Tender? No. Couldn't be. A thief of her caliber didn't know what 'sweet' was. 

Gamzee shook his head and told himself that he was imagining things. He trudged to the staircase and made his way up lazily, Vriska's smile flashing in his mind a couple of times. He thought he ought to bang his head against a wall or something, that this was simply too weird. But, before he could act, Gamzee got to the door and opened it, finding Karkat and Tavros sitting on the roof, playing a lousy game of cards. At least, it sounded as if it was lousy, due to how much Karkat was complaining and how wide Tavros' grin was. 

"Nitram, that's complete and utter horseshit! That's not how you play, you grubsnuffing cheater!" Karkat threw down his hand of cards and leaned back against the shallow wall of the clock tower. Tavros leaned back with a smirk.

"Well, you should recall that, uh, Vriska and I play cards all the time. I uh, learned a few things from her."

"Yeah, well, fuck you and your tricks!"

Gamzee found it the appropriate time to go back down the steps. Those two were doing a fine enough job without him-- he'd go back up when Karkat or Tavros grew too tired to stay. Besides, he had a strange, yet strong urge, to make sure that Vriska was alright. She was the most wanted criminal in Prospit, and a part of Gamzee admitted that he worried for her. He didn't quite understand why. She was the most insufferable woman he'd ever come across-- loud, crass, and extremely immature. He despised some of the things she said, and most of the things she did. But there were the times where he was convinced that everything Vriska did was a mask for something deeper. Something darker. That somewhere far into her soul was a vulnerable, compassionate human being. However, Gamzee knew it would never be wise to search. She'd retreat or get incredibly defensive as she always did, and she'd become unbearably hostile. Vriska Serket was a paradoxical tangle masking herself with the illusion of having it all together.

Gamzee wandered to the spot where Vriska had gone, her little corner near the stained glass window of the tower. He found her curled up there, lost in a forgiving sleep, a multi-colored light cast upon her pale skin. Her face had lost all of its stubborn defiance and ferocity, and in that moment, she looked nearly angelic. Gamzee tore himself away from looking at her, telling himself that he was being obtuse. She was technically his boss. What was the saying? Don't mix business with pleasure?

Gamzee snickered quietly and nodded to himself. What the hell was he thinking? Yeah, Vriska was exceptionally pretty, but there wasn't much else to it. She was a nasty woman who made up lies, manipulated anyone she could and stole for a living. Gamzee faltered for a moment as he approached the exit of the tower. He was no better than she was. Tavros and Karkat at least had dinky jobs working as an apprentice and as a servant. Gamzee went on the streets and pilfered money by stealing and selling things for much more than they were worth, keeping the items that would be of any use to him. Before he got too deep into the trenches of his thoughts, Gamzee shook it off and left the tower, set on getting more money. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about my lack of posting lately and my royal twisting of Jake's vernacular. He's hard to write for, man.


End file.
